Categories
Cinema DVD

El Cantante

{mosimage}Discover the life and overall the great music of a salsa legend, Hector Lavoe. Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez in the main roles.

 

For many readers, especially the ones that lived the salsa boom in the 70s, the name of Hector Lavoe  can be very well known. For many others, especially in Europe, this film is a great opportunity to discover a bit more about latino rythms and salsa. The movie has certainly great moments, especially the ones that happen on stage, with Marc Anthony doing a pretty decent job both in vocal skills and acting as the tormented artist, drug addict and father unable to find a balance between his career and his family. Unfortunately, the film is more focused on Jennifer Lopez as his wife Puchi, and that destroys the movie. I have the impression that the best JL´s movies are those ones where she does not talk much and express herself dancing. Here, unfortunately, she talks too much and the acting is sometimes close to ridiculous, like her boring monologues in front of the camera in the sequences where she is interviewed.

 

Try to focus on the salsa music, and (although not an easy task) forget about the omnipresence of Lopez all over the film.

 

Rating 3/5.

 

{mosimage}The best: Some scenes of Marc Anthony playing with the band are awesome and gives you a really good feeling about how the real life of Lavoe was.

 

The worst: Jennifer Lopez trying to act tormented in front of the camera, but not achieving it.

 

The detail: in USA the title of the film was “Who killed Hector Lavoe?”.

  

Leave a Reply